Carlos Sainz is gearing up for his Williams debut at the Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne next week, but the Spaniard admits he’s stepping into the unknown with his new FW47 contender.
As the 2025 campaign looms, the Spaniard revealed last week in Bahrain that the restrictive nature of pre-season testing has left him “a bit lost” about how to exploit his car’s optimum performance.
Despite topping the timesheets at Sakhir, Sainz’s candid reflections highlight the challenges of adapting to a new team under F1’s restrictive rules.
A Strong Start, But Questions Remain
Sainz’s transition to Williams has been promising on paper. His fastest lap in Bahrain showcased the strides made with the FW47, a car that’s a marked improvement over its predecessors.
Yet, with only one-and-a-half days behind the wheel before Australia, he couldn’t explore all the test items on his checklist.
Queried on how the Grove-based outfit’s latest design compares to some of his previous cars, Sainz offered an elusive reply.
“There’s just never a good car, bad car” he told the media, quoted by Motorsport Week.
“It’s just different trade-offs that you just need to take out all your skills and tools and say, ‘OK, this comes quite naturally in this car, but this other thing doesn’t’. And I now need to focus on that.”
For Sainz, who’s navigated team switches before, the real hurdle lies in pinpointing the elusive edge.
“The reality is that while I was pushing yesterday, I don’t know where to find the last two-tenths,” he confessed. “I’m going to go into the first races not knowing where the last bit of performance of the car is.
“I was a bit lost, not knowing whether I need to push more the entries with this car or more the minimum speeds, or I need to focus more on the exits.”
He believes the answer will only emerge through trial and error in real qualifying sessions.
“This you only discover when you put five sets of Softs in qualifying and you kind of end up finding out where the lap time comes,” he noted.
“I feel like everyone that changes teams, unfortunately, with only one day and a half of testing, only discovers this in the first few races.”
Testing Limits and Adaptation Challenges
Sainz’s comments spotlight a broader issue in modern F1: the single pre-season test isn’t enough to master a new machine. He’s even floated the idea of trading simulator time for more track days to bridge the gap.
“One and a half days of testing is not enough for us to understand everything new,” he emphasized. “Everything is new when you change teams.”
And this season, Sainz isn’t alone in facing this dilemma. Multiple line-up changes at all but two teams during the off-season – sparked in large part by Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari – have left many short on testing mileage.
From rookies like Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes to veterans like Hamilton, adaptation is the name of the game. With 2025 shaping up as one of the tightest seasons in years, Sainz sees both risk and opportunity.
“Five, six teams within two, three-tenths,” he observed, pointing to the razor-thin margins at the front. “It’s changing teams, but it’s the same for the guys at the top with Kimi and Lewis.
“It’s four teams fighting for the last three-tenths [at the front].”
He knows the early races will be a proving ground. “And for sure, changing teams there has an effect, especially at the beginning,” he said.
“Then it’s your job as a driver to make that process as seamless as possible and not cost yourself and the team a lot of positions and points.”
The Stakes in Melbourne
As Sainz rolls into Melbourne, the stakes are high. A veteran of 10 F1 seasons, he’s no stranger to pressure, but this debut carries extra weight.
Williams, revitalized under James Vowles’ leadership, is banking on Sainz to spearhead their resurgence. Yet, he’s realistic about the learning curve ahead.
“But it’s what it comes with changing drivers, changing teams. It’s normal,” he acknowledged.
©Williams
The FW47’s potential is clear, but without that final piece of the puzzle – “the last bit of performance” – Sainz will be feeling his way through the Albert Park circuit.
For Williams and its new recruit, Melbourne won’t just be a race – it’ll be a discovery mission. In a season where every tenth counts, how quickly he cracks the FW47’s code could set the tone for their campaign.
The stopwatch waits for no one, and Sainz knows it.
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